I had been given the task of commanding the Allied forces in this game. My broad plan was to apply pressure on the French center-right, not commit on the extreme French right, but attempt a breakthrough in the center. Usually, St.Hilaire withdraws to the strong position between the lakes, but I wanted to try to bypass him or maybe knock him out before he did that. Miloradovich was dealt two artillery units, with the possibility of setting them up on the Stare Vinohrady to face possible advancing French. Also, Bagration was given strength to present a credible force on my right. Maybe, if the French committed forces to their center, Bagration could attack from the north, or at least be able to withstand an advance from the French left.

(In the setup picture, the fixed artillery with a supporting unit is misplaced; it should be on the Santon. That was corrected later in the game.)

7 AM turn:I advance with my three leftmost corps, and with Prebyshevsky and Miloradovich in the center; Miloradovich occupying Stare Vinohrady as planned. I engage Legrand in Sokolnitz to keep him occupied and confined within the village. To my surprise, St. Hilaire, instead of withdrawing, ventures out and forward, with Vandamme filling in from behind. My French opponent has obviously chosen an offensive strategy.

8 AM turn:Dokhturov advances through the Castle and occupies a blue star! Legrand in Sokolnitz is now threatened from two sides. Vandamme throws the Allied cavalry out of Kobelnitz.St. Hilaire launches an all-in attack on Langeron, leading with two 3-inf! Langeron defends with two 2-inf, and summons the newly arrived cavalry to join his own for a counter-attack, and throws St.Hilaire back. The French gnash their teeth for not having attacked with St.Hilaire before Vandamme. Without the cavalry, Langeron would have lost the fight! Prebyshevsky is sent forward to exploit the weakened French centre, even though these open areas are dangerous and prone to attacks across multiple approaches.

9 AM turn:Dokhturov throws Legrand out of Sokolnitz! Kienmayer pulls out of the approach in order to occupy the now vacated blue star locale, which is soon taken over by a lone French unit. Langeron pursues his success and forces St.Hilaire back into his start locale. Meanwhile, Vandamme advances towards the Pratzen heights. Liechtenstein remains on the heights to meet him.Miloradovich is not very useful on the Stare Vinohrady, and advances. Prebyshevsky has to take some fire from Murat. Lannes is pulled back, apparently to support the centre. A cavalry unit from Bagration’s corps has now advanced past the Santon and presents a threat to the French left. Bagration himself remains still, watching the development of things ahead together with Kollowrath and Constantine.

10 AM turn:Prebyshevsky doesn’t have enough strength to attack, and withdraws, so as not to be mutilated by Murat and Lannes, who are closing in with fresh forces. Miloradovich aligns with Prebyshevsky, presenting a common front. The French Guard (infantry and cavalry) are revealed to be with Vandamme and St.Hilaire! They present a determined counter-attack, and force Kienmayer and Langeron to retreat. Dokhturov is now in a precarious position in Sokolnitz, with no friendly forces nearby, and French units circling around, going in for the kill. Many shattered units limit the maneuverability of the Allied army. A seeming success initially has turned around, and the French now have gained some initiative. A temporary setback for the Allies, but the day is still young, the French are down on morale, and we have more strength which has not been committed.

11 AM turn:Time for the Allies to collect their forces and prepare for another advance. Prebyshevsky, Kienmayer and Langeron attach one unit each, and Kollowrath (with two Guard infantry units) advances to bring some strength into the attack later.Vandamme and St.Hilaire don’t take on Liechtenstein on the Pratze. Instead, they take part in a concerted action around Sokolnitz, which ends in Dokhturov being completely eliminated!Morale is reduced in both camps (the French much lower), and the blue stars are suddenly some way off. At this point, I judge my best chance of victory lies in an attempt at demoralization.

12 PM turn:A new Allied advance: Liechtenstein (with two 3-inf) descends in the centre, to attempt the breakthrough that was the original plan, and which now seems feasible, leaving Kienmayer and Langeron to deal with Vandamme and St. Hilaire, should they attempt any mischief. Prebyshevsky and Miloradovich advance alongside Liechtenstein, with Constantine now finally leaving his rear position (he doesn’t have much strength, but my opponent doesn’t know that).The French occupy much of the southern battlefield, but the units are scattered, and do not present an immediate threat, even though the Guard cavalry is among them.

1 PM turn:The attempt to break through between Puntowitz and Kobelnitz fails, and a French feint lures Liechtenstein into the approach (a careless move!). St.Hilaire on the Pratze is controlled by Kienmayer and Langeron, and doesn’t achieve much.I manage to sneak another cavalry unit behind the French line. Bagration enters the scene, and presents a new threat to the French, which now have a lot to take care of on their center-left.Morale: A13, F6.

2 PM turn:Liechtenstein is in a dangerous position in the approach, with a single unit to defend against attacks from other approaches. I decide to spend my moves on other corps, pushing the French back, keeping them in place, preparing for possible Guard attacks from Kollowrath and Bagration. I hope the French will spend their independent moves elsewhere, and let Liechtenstein off the hook. But those hopes are all in vain, of course. My opponent won’t let such a prize slip through his fingers. A single unit attack forces Liechtenstein’s units to retreat and scatter with the loss of a 2-inf unit. Still, I maintain two 3-inf with him in the same locale.The French now manage to gain some control of the centre-south of the battlefield. Their units on the Pratze heights are all cavalry, and some Guard cavalry, so no threat to the black stars there, but Langeron and Kienmayer had better watch their steps carefully! I must now use my strength in the north to accomplish my victory, but the morale loss this last hour makes me worried.Morale: A6, F5.

3 PM turn (no picture):An attack threat forces Lannes’ battered corps to retreat into Schlapanitz. Miloradovich doesn’t have to fire his guns, but lets Kollowrath (with the Guard infantry) perform the attack and advance into the vacated locale, ready for a Guard attack the next round. A cavalry unit from Bagration engages the French unit in Jirzikowitz, forcing it into the approach. Unfortunately, Miloradovich is in an approach, and cannot detach a unit to attack into Jirzikowitz! How stupid of me to send Kollowrath forward! That would have cost the French his last 2 morale points, and won me the game!The cavalry on the Pratze could be contained, so all I could do was to position myself so as not to lose any morale points, and then finish the French off in the next (and last) round.In a desperate measure, the French bring Davout and Bernadotte on! 4 morale points gained. Can they succeed in demoralizing the Allies? They capture a cavalry unit and manage to reduce the Allied morale to 4. But further French attempts to counter-attack, fail. The French see no hope of escaping demoralization in the last round, and give up.

A very close game, with could have gone either way. The fear of spoiling everything by making a wrong decision in the last rounds, was almost numbing. But throughout the battle, many small and big decisions by both sides were flawed, and nothing to be proud of. Hence the title of this session report, attributed to Winston Churchill (which probably also is wrong).

• One or two units can be named, but two can be named only if both are of the same type and from the same corps.

Oops - you are right! It is not allowed! I would have had to counter-attack with my 3-inf, or use the 3-inf as lead together with the 2-inf, and counter-attacked with either a 2-cav or a 2-inf. I would still have won the fight by weight of numbers, but the 3-inf would have been reduced, which could have been of significance later.